The Real Robin Hood

Every purchase you make through these Amazon links supports DVD Verdict's reviewing efforts. Thank you!

All Rise...

Judge David Johnson doesn't know who the real Robin Hood was, but he's pretty sure it wasn't a talking fox.

The Charge

Who is the real Robin Hood?

The Case

Well, according to this documentary…we have no fricking clue. History
Channel's latest piggy-back on a Hollywood blockbuster dispenses with the
subtlety and fully embraces its true nature: as a de facto bonus feature
on the Robin Hood special edition
DVD.

Seriously. Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe are in this. What does that tell
you? Also, the program is produced by Scott's production company.

Yes, then, The Real Robin Hood is a fairly transparent piece of
marketing aimed at generating buzz for the big-screen treatment of Sherwood
Forest's most famous junk-hugging-pants-wearing vigilante. But it's a well-made
piece of marketing and can be quite informative. Not so much about the
"real," historical Robin Hood—that's all folklore and
speculation—but about the peripheral history surrounding the timeline Hood
is associated with.

The scholars and experts History Channel gathered together do a fine job
painting a picture of the time period, supplementing holistic discussions of the
politics and culture, with details of weaponry, housing, clothing, and fighting
styles (the guy with the staff who goes bonkers is my favorite).

You get 94 minutes worth of this stuff and despite it's blatant commercial
purpose, The Real Robin Hood is nicely assembled; streamlining
interviews, footage from the film Robin Hood, dramatized performances,
stills and an epic orchestral score together for an impressive piece of
production. The historical value is more in Robin Hood's contemporary
surroundings, however.